Air cleaner



A. C. BENNETT AIR CLEANER .Now 5, 1929.

Filed Nov. 6, 1926 fm/ef? for' Patented Nov.v 5, 1929 PATE ori-ica F MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA Application filed november 6, 1926. Serial No. 146,788.

rlhis invention relates to air cleaners such as are especially adapted for use in connection with the carburetors of internal combustion engines and, generally stated, it consists of the novel devices, combinations of devices and arran ement of parte hereinafter described an dened in the claims.

rl'he present invention belen to a type of air cleaner disclosed and broa ly claimed 1n my prior Patent No. 1,223,6621oi date April.

24, 1917, but it involves big y important novel features. The novelty o the present case is chiey in the im rovement oprimary and seconda devices or'producing a whirl in motion o the air drawn intothe cleaner, an in the cooperative arrangement of the clean air outlet means and the dust-receiving means. rEhe cleaner is ada ted to be operated in various dierent positions, to Wit: in horizontal, vertical or oblique positions, but in the drawings I have shown the same turned with its axis horizontal and directly connected to the air intake of a carburetor, such. as used in connection with internal combustion en nes.

the drawings, which illustrate said invention ap lied as indicated, like characters indicate le parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings: l

Fig. 1. is a side elevation showmg the air cleaner attached to a carburetor as indicated;

Fig. 2 is an axial section taken through the air' cleaner on the line 2-2 of Fi 1; and

Fig. 3 is an end elevation looking om the left toward the right in respect to Fig. 2 and showing the casing with theV dust cap removed therefrom. Y

The carburetor, which is indicated aspan 4 entirety by the numeral 4, is provided with the customary air intake tube 5, which, in the arrangement shown, in horizontally disposed. The air cleaner comprises a tubular casing 6, preferably cylindrical and of sheet metal, 15 provided at one end with a fixed head 7,

which, as shown, is axially bulged at 7i. As

shown the head 7 is secured to the adjacent end of7 the casing 6 by a rolled bead 8 that adords a seat for a gasket 9. The numeral 50 10 indicates a. dust cap that is detachably telescoped onto the end of the casing 6 and 1s clamped against the gasket -9 by a suitable clampm means shown as afforded by a threade rod 11 anchored to the head 7, passed through an axial perforation in the cap 10 and provided at its outer end witha thumb nut 12. rl'he head 7 and dust ca I0 formadust-collecting chamber 13. The eadl 7 is provided adjacent to the shell 6 with a dust port 14 through which, as will hereinafter appear, the dust will be thrown under the action of centrifu al force and caused to enter the dust .cham er 13. At its other end, the casing 6 is provided with an axially extended clean air outlet tube 15 preferably made of such size that its pro'ecting end can be telescoped onto the air inta e tube 5 of the carburetor. An annular air intake assage 16 is formed betweenthe tube 15an casing 6, and in this air intake assage is an annular series of oblique circum erentially spaced primary air deflecting blades or vanes 17, which, as shown, are formed as a part of an annular sheet metal spacing ring 18 that is rigidly secured to said tube and to the casing' 6, the latter connection being formed by a rolled bead 19. S aced inward from the primary defiecting b ades 17 is a series of oblique circumferentially spaced secondary deflecting blades or vanes 20, which, as shown, are formed by the expanded inner extremity of the air tube 15, t-he outer portions of said blades 2O being preferably slightly 'spaced from the interior of the casing 6. Between the primary and secondary blades, the air tube 15 has auxiliary air ports 21 that open linntolaid tube from the annular air cham- Operation When the air cleaner is connected to the carburetorand the engine is in operation, the suction produced in the air intake of the carburetor will, of course, produce a partial vacuum in the air tube 15 and within the casing 6 and this, as is obvious, will cause the air laden with more or less dust to be drawn into the casing. The incoming air will strike the primary deflecting blades 17 and will be caused to take up a whirling motion around the air tube 15 and within the casing 6. Centrifugal force will, of course, cause the dust particles to be thrown outward and take up a whirling motion against the interior of the casing. A relatively small part of the clean air will be drawn through the auxiliary orts 21 and will take a short cut out throug 1 the clean air tube 15, but the main body lot the air will continue its spiral motion and will strike the secondary deecting blades 20 and, by the latter, its whirling motion will be not only continued but accelerated or reestablished so that the main body of air, upon entering the main chamber of the casing 6, will be caused to continue its whirling motion and will cause thel dust, while hugging the interior of the casing, to advance spirally against the head 7 and to pass through the port 14 and into the dust chamber 13. The ulged portion 7 a of the head 7 assists in deflecting ,the dust and affords a sort of annular track on the head 7 adjacent to the shell 6 that serves to direct the dust to the port 14.y

The air, freed from dust, will reverse its direction of travel within the casing and will pass axially outward through the clean air tube 15 and to the carburetor. Experiments have shown that the efficiency of the air cleaner is materially increased by the use of the primary and secondary air-delecting devices for setting up the whirling motion of the air and is still further improved by the auxiliary air ports 21, which permit a considerable portion of the clean air to immediately pass into the air tube 15. I have also found that the cleaning action is further improved by giving the blades 20 greater inclination than is given to the primary blades 17. The reason for this seems to be that all of the air passin to the cleaner will strike the blades 17 un er relatively high velocity and that a considerably reduced volume will strike the blades 20, due to the fact that some of the air is short-circuited through the ports 21 and it seems that the slower traveling air, striking the blades 2O in order to keep up the peripheral velocity or centrifugal action, requires a greater bevel in the blades 20. It is also important that the secondary blades 2O do not have contact with the shell 6, but are spaced therefrom slightly so as to permit the thin film of spirally movlng dust to pass freely to the interior or main chamber of the cas-VV t is also preferred that the secondary blades 20 be smaller than the primary blades 17, in proportion to the reduction in volume of air, which passes through said secondary blades 20, due to the ports 21 located intermediately between said primary and secondary blades.

What 1 claim is:

1. An air cleaner comprising a. tubular casing provided with an air outlet tube and an air inlet passage, said air inlet passage havin spaced primary and secondary deflecting b ades causing the incoming air to take up a whirling motion, said air inlet having unobstructed auxiliary ports leading therefrom from points between said rimary and secondary delecting blades andp leading directly into said air outlet tube, and said casing having a dust chamber for the dust separated from the clean air.`

2. Anair cleaner comprising' a tubular casing provided at one end with an axial clean air outlet tube, primary and secondary deecting blades surrounding said tube for causing the incoming air to take up a whirling motion, and said air tube between said primary and secondary blades havin@ unobstructed auxiliary air ports, leading directly therefrom into the clean air outlet tube to allow some 0f the incoming air to shortcircuit therethrough to the outlet without passing said secondary deflecting blades.

3. An air cleaner comprising a tubular casing provided at one end with an axial clean air outlet tube, primary and secondary deflecting blades surrounding said tube for causingthe incomin air to take up a whirling motion, and sai air outlet tube between said primary and secondary blades having unobstructed auxiliary air ports leading directly therefrom into said clean air outlet tube, and said casing at its opposite end hav-v ing a dust-collecting chamber into which the dust is adapted to be thrown under the action of centrifugalforce.

4. An air cleaner' comprising a tubular casing provided at one end with an axial air outlet tube and a dust-collecting chamber at its opposite end, said casing surrounding said air outlet tube having an annular air inlet and in said air inlet axially s aced series of circumferentially spaced de ecting blades, the innermost of said series of circumferentially spaced blades being spaced from the inner wall of said casing to permit the thin lm of spirally moving dust to pass freely to the interior of the main chamber of the casing.

5. An aircleaner comprisin a tubular casing provided at one end wit an axial air outlet tube and a dust-collecting chamber at its opposite end, said casing surrounding said air Qutlet tube and forming an annular air inlet therebetween and said tube and in said air inlet an axially s aced series of circumferentially s aced de. ecting blades, the said air outlet tue between said axially spaced series of deecting blades having auxiliary air ports.

. 6. An air cleaner comprising a tubular casing provided at one end with an axial clean air outlet tube, primary and secondary delecting blades surrounding said tube'for causing the incomin air to take up a whirling motion, and sai air outlet tube between sald primary and secondary blades having unobstructed auxilia air ports leading directly therefrom to said clean air outlet tube, said casing at its opposite end having a dust collecting chamber into which the dust is adapted to be thrown under the action of centrifugal force, and said dust chamber having a dust-receiving port located adjacent to said casing.

7 An air cleaner comprising a tubular cas- 10 ing provided at one end with an axial clean air outlet tube, primary and secondary deecting blades surrounding said tube for causing the incoming air to take up a whirling motion, andi said air outlet tube between said primary and secondary blades havin unobstructed auxiliary air ports leading irectly therefrom to said clean air outlet tube,'said casing at its opposite end having a dust-collecting chamber into which the dust is adapted to be thrown under the action of centrifugal force, said dust chamber having a central portion bulged axially towards said clean air outlet tube.

8. An air cleaner comprising a tubular casing provided with an a1r outlet tube and an air inlet passage, said air inlet passage having spaced primary and secondary deflecting blades causing the incoming air to take up a whirling motion, said air inlet having unso obstructed auxiliary ports leading therefrom from points between said primary and secondary delecting blades and leading directly into said air outlet'tube, and said casing having a dust chamber for the dust separatedfrom the clean air, in which the lnner deiectin blades'have greater bevel than the outer eflecting blades. 9. An air cleaner comprising a tubularv casing provided at one end with an axial clean a; air outlet tube, primary and secondary destructed auxilia air ports leading fleeting blades surrounding said tube for causing the incoming air to take up a whirling motion, and said air tube between said primary and secondary blades havin unobirectly therefrom into t e clean air outlet tube to allow some of the incoming air to short circuit therethrough to the outlet tube without passing said secondary deliectin blades, in o which the secondary detlecting lades have reater bevel than the primary-deilecting lades.

In testimony whereof I ax my si ature. ASHLEY C. BEN TT. 

